It’s hard to keep a good man down, or a smooth talker like Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone). The last we saw of Dwight, he was headed back to prison for allegedly bribing a federal agent. He successfully argues that it was a gift, in the Shakespearian, “It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes” sense. In no time at all he’s back in Tulsa, house hunting with his daughter, Tina (Tatiana Zappardino), and sister, Joanne (Annabella Sciorra), when he’s not working on building his business empire of questionable legality. He even has a growing romance with local rancher, Margaret (Dana Delany). Life is good.
Unfortunately, when he starts infringing on the other crime bosses in town, Dwight has bigger problems than the homeowners association and finding a good recliner. Cal Thresher (Neal McDonough) is growing drugs with Chinese gangsters, and Bill Bevilaqua has an illicit import/export business. The names are hardly subtle, as “Bevilaqua” means “hot water” and Thresher means, well, “one that beats things.” There’s also Chickie (Domenick Lombardozzi), the head of Dwight’s old family in New York, who still hates him. Everyone sees Dwight as a threat.
Things get personal when those on Dwight’s crew and their families start getting killed or injured. With so many players working against him, it’s difficult to know which faction needs to suffer retribution, or if everyone does. Still, while Tulsa King (streaming on Paramount+) goes to some very dark places, the show maintains a light touch. A visit to a prospective private school for Dwight’s grandsons plays out like an aside on Tim Allen’s sitcom Last Man Standing.
Not that this second season has become family viewing. The language, drug use, and violence are still off the charts. What keeps me invested is watching Dwight inch ever closer to redemption. Stallone loves mythology and taking his characters through twisting mazes of despair toward an ultimate prize. Sometimes Dwight leads his people down his current path, with its skewed moral code. But sometimes he regrets his choices. He frequently suffers setbacks.
In a late episode Joanne reminds him, “You can’t go back and change what was.” He replies, “No, but I can change what is.” As Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13-14, “Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” And also like Paul, sometimes Dwight hates what he does, and does it anyway (Rom. 7:15).
The season ends with Dwight moving in the right direction (even if the cliffhanger ending presents a new obstacle). He’s investing in legitimate businesses and willing to show mercy to his enemies. Yes, Dwight gets his revenge. But in a way that’s illustrative of something else Shakespeare wrote: “(Mercy) is an attribute to God Himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God’s when mercy seasons justice.” (Paramount)